Three Little Words
by quickand2thepointless
Summary: Prince Innes reveals his humorous side as he tries to convince Vanessa to confess her love to him. Light and fluffy to the core.


**A/N: **As I said in "All This Beauty," this was a little one shot I wrote a while ago. Innes is a bit OOC, but I like to think love has the power to soften him up a little. Let me know what you think!

0o0o0o0o

After Princess Tana walked away, Vanessa took her usual post beside Prince Innes. He was practicing his archery, though in her opinion he needed no practice; his form and aim were already as flawless and called for little improvement. Even still, she watched breathlessly as he notched his arrow and released it into the trunk of a nearby elm tree. "Brilliant, milord," she whispered in awe. "Perfect as always."

"You flatter me, Vanessa," Innes responded humbly. "It was a simple shot."

"Oh, but it looked so marvelous." She smiled. "How does Princess Tana fare? I saw you speaking with her just a moment ago."

"She's as well as can be expected. I fear though that her spirits may further suffer if this war continues on in the hopeless vein that it has tended to. She has always been such an innocent girl, and it does not benefit her at all to see such things."

"Our poor princess. May the gods see us all through this war with our hearts intact."

"I have faith that they will. I promised you that we would be together after this conflict, and I do not think fate will allow me to break my word."

"You are indeed a man of honor, my prince. I believe in you that we will live to see the end of this."

"Certainly." He paused for a moment, twirling his bow absently between his fingers. "Vanessa, you would say that you like me, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," she cried out in surprise. How could he even question it? "I like you very much."

"You would even say that you care for me, perhaps."

"Deeply, sir. More than anyone else."

Innes smiled briefly, though his seriousness instantly returned a moment or two later. "But..." he started to say, but quickly changed his mind. "No. Forgive me, Vanessa. I ask too much."

"I have no qualms in answering anything you might ask, Prince Innes," Vanessa quickly protested, smiling in encouragement.

"Well. All right. Do you, Vanessa... do you... love me?"

Vanessa's cheeks burned brightly. "Prince Innes!"

"Just Innes, please... if you will."

"Innes... you know how I feel about you. Don't you?" She tugged her hair nervously, determinedly avoiding his eyes. She wasn't supposed to make a declaration to her liege was she? She could say she loved him if he said it first, perhaps, but it would be entirely improper for initiate anything herself. Unheard of! Impossible!

But Innes was not satisfied with the answer she had given. "Could you say it, perhaps?" he requested politely. "Out loud?" _Just do it, my dear, _he thought to himself. _I can see how much you're longing to._

"Goodness, Innes," Vanessa stalled. "Maybe you should say it yourself."

"Excuse me? You want me to tell _myself_ that you love me." His brow furrowed and he looked more baffled than she'd ever seen him.

"No! No, no, no!" She couldn't keep herself from laughing slightly. "I meant that youshould say that _you _love _me._"

"But I think that I asked _you_ to tell me first!"

"But don't you think it would be more meaningful if you said it?"

"I don't see how."

"You know. The Great Prince of Frelia bringing immeasurable joy upon his grateful, humble, and adoring knight by declaring his love for her," she explained patiently. "It's something you would read in storybooks. It just makes sense."

Innes placed a hand on his hip and glared down at her. "Well, this 'Great Prince of Frelia' would be immeasurably joyous if his humble, adoring, and beautiful knight spoke up first."

"It would give you quite a romantic image in Frelia if you were the one to say it."

"I don't care what Frelia thinks of me. I care what you think. And I want to hear if you love me or not."

"But I'm not sure I feel comfortable saying it without any assurance of your own feelings."

"You know how I feel about you, Vanessa. I know you do."

"Are you saying you love me, my prince?" Vanessa asked, lowering her eyes prettily.

"Of co- wait! I know exactly what you're getting at, and it's not going to work!"

"Are you aware of how stubborn you are, milord?" Vanessa sighed.

"Are you aware of how stubborn _you _are, milady?"

"I am a knight of Frelia. I do not back down!"

"And I am a prince of Frelia. Nor do I!" Innes put both hands firmly down on her shoulders. "I guess this means you don't want to marry me. I know we're not of the same station, but you have to realize that men like Forde or Kyle will never make you as happy as I will. And how could I marry another noble of my ilk? Since Eirka has a preference for red haired knights named Seth and L'Arachel is much too in love with herself to love anyone else, I suppose I will have to settle for being alone. The Frelian line will have to go to Tana's sons, and since she will have no one else but Ephraim for a husband, our country will be given over to the control of Renais. Oh, Vanessa! So much misery will befall us all because you will not marry me!"

"You never said anything about marriage, did you?" she protested, feeling quite confused by his outburst.

"Did I not ask you to say whether or not you love me? I took your lack of response as a refusal, and thus an indication of your decision not to be my wife at a later date."

"I haven't refused any offer of marriage! You never made me one!"

"Well, I didn't see making one as necessary since you clearly aren't in love with me."

"I never said I didn't love you," she snapped in frustration.

"Yes, but you never said you did either. And I explicitly asked you to do so."

"And if I had said so, you would have proposed?"

"Of course. That is what a man does when a woman as lovely as you is in love with him. But you are not... you must be in love with someone else. You know, I have always suspected that block headed knight of Ephraim's of foul play. I probably ought to challenge him to a duel for your honor."

"Do you mean Forde? Or Kyle?"

"Why ask me? _You_ are the one who knows the answer to that question."

Vanessa stared at him incredulously. "I'm not in love with either of them. Or anyone else!"

"I don't understand. If you don't want to marry me, there must be someone else. Why isn't there?"

"BECUASE I LOVE _YOU_, YOU GREAT IDIOT!" she screamed, nearly ripping out her hair as she did so.

"HA! I knew it," Innes cried triumphantly. "I love you as well, Vanessa. Now we shall be married when this whole mess is over."

"Wait! Uh... oh. I said it first, didn't I? Damn it! I apologize for the insult, my prince. I should never presume..."

"Vanessa, do I look like a man who has just been insulted? I got you to confess your love for me, and I truly couldn't be happier!"

She shook her head in amazement. "What was the point of that? You knew I loved you all along, didn't you."

"Of course. But since you've admitted to it yourself, I've not only got bragging rights with the other men, but an impending engagement to look forward to as well. Ha! You're going to be Princess of Frelia, Vanessa! I bet you're feeling rather fortunate at the moment, right?"

Vanessa, feeling both extremely frustrated and inexpressibly happy, leaned against Prince Innes in exhaustion. "Remind me why I love you again?"

He bent over and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Is this reminder enough, my dear?"


End file.
